Recap of World Series Game 2

The Rockies can’t seem to do anything right. Last night, they lost to the Boston Red Sox with a final score of Boston 2, Colorado 1; the Red Sox now take a 2-0 series lead into Denver. Whereas Game 1 was a blowout, Game 2 was a nailbiter. Whereas in Game 1 the Rockies didn’t have the pitching, in Game 2 the Rockies didn’t have the hitting (aside from Matt Holliday, who went 4/4). The entire Colorado lineup (aside from Matt Holliday) struggled last night, going for a combined 1 for 25.

These days, Curt Schilling’s socks aren’t blood-stained, but he’s still as good as ever. Sure, his velocity on his fastball has dropped into the high 80s to low 90s mark, but the effectiveness of his pitches is still there. And it showed last night in his timely selection of pitches. In Game 2 of the World Series, Schilling lasted 5 1/3 innings on 82 pitches, scattering just four hits and giving up only one ER. But it is Hideki Okajima who gets the player of the game award, as he lasted 2 1/3 innings, whiffing four batters and giving up a grand total of zero hits.

After the game, Curt Schilling had this to say: “This is the only place where you can find out how far you can push yourself, because it’s the ultimate pass-or-fail test. There is no gray area in the postseason. You can have a mediocre season. But you can’t have a mediocre postseason. You either win it all or lose it all. So when you get in this situation, it’s the ultimate pass-or-fail exam.” How right he is. The Boston Red Sox have come in swinging this series, while the Colorado Rockies are looking like a minor league team who can’t figure out what hit them.

Some more interesting game notes:

Curt Schilling, after tonight, added to his already impressive postseason resume. He’s now 11-2, with a 2.23 ERA, in his 19 postseason trips to the mound. In World Series starts, Schilling is now 4-1, with 2.06 ERA.

Of the 50 previous teams that took a 2-0 lead in the World Series, 39 went on to win — including six straight and 12 of the last 13.

Okajima became the first Japanese-born pitcher to play in a World Series game

Matt Holliday gets the “please pay more attention” award for being picked off at first base by Papelbon in the eighth inning. He was thrown out by at least one foot, and destroyed Colorado’s would-be rally.